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Section-by-Section Description: Investing for the People Act of 2019

Apr 2, 2019

Section 1. Short Title. This section cites the short title of the legislation as the “Investing for the People Act of 2019.”

Section 101. Amendments to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. This section amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to increase the defense and nondefense discretionary spending limits for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. It also amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to place a limit on the adjustment to the discretionary spending caps for funding designated for Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terror. The section also adds two new adjustments to the discretionary spending caps: (1) for Internal Revenue Service enforcement activities in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, and (2) for cyclical expenses in fiscal year 2020 associated with the 2020 Census. The section also revises procedures for implementing sequestration of direct spending, which is required under current law and involves cuts that interact with discretionary spending levels. The section requires that sequestration to take place in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, as if the amendments that this section makes to the discretionary spending limits have not been made.

Section 201.Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Resolution. This section provides that, as soon as practicable, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives must submit for publication in the Congressional Record committee allocations, aggregate spending levels, and aggregate revenue levels. This section further specifies that the Chairman will set allocations of discretionary funding in accordance with the discretionary spending caps established by the bill and allocations of mandatory funding consistent with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline. It also specifies that the Chairman will set the aggregate spending levels in accordance with those allocations and the aggregate revenue levels consistent with the CBO baseline. The allocations, aggregates, and levels submitted by the Chairman are enforceable in the House of Representatives as if they were included in a fiscal year 2020 concurrent resolution on the budget. This section further provides that the Chairman may make adjustments to the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels for certain purposes, including to reflect changes resulting from CBO’s updates to its baseline.

Section 202. Limitation on Advance Appropriations. This section extends a general prohibition on advance appropriations. It also provides for exceptions for programs, activities, or accounts identified in lists submitted by the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives for publication in the Congressional Record.

Section 203. Exercise of Rulemaking Powers. This section specifies that sections 201 and 202 are enacted under the rulemaking powers of the House of Representatives and will be considered part of the rules of the House. It also recognizes that the House has the authority to change the rules.